Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast: Andy Serkis, James Franco, Frieda Pinto, Tom Felton, John Lithgow
The Bible says that God created Man, and in His infinite grace and wisdom, God gave Man dominion over the Earth and the animals who dwell there. But what happens when Man, in all his pride and ignorance, tries to play God by manipulating those same creatures to reverse the damage of time and age and recreate…life, itself? This is the question we contemplate in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
At the story's heart is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from his mother who was injected with an experimental drug before she died. Raised like a human child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco) and a primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno. Seeking justice for his fellow inmates there, Caesar gives the fellow apes the same drug that he inherited. He then assembles a simian army and escapes the sanctuary - putting man and ape on a collision course that could change the planet forever.
One of the most powerful themes in this film is identity and nowhere is it illustrated more strongly than in the character of Caesar, himself, and the bond he shares with his human father, Will, and the other primates he meets in the sanctuary.
Although the bond shared between Caesar and his human family, Will and Charles, is extraordinarily strong, as he grows up, Caesar’s heightened intelligence and emotions cause him to realize that he does not quite belong in his father’s world. He is torn between two different lives…the one he shares with his human family, and the one he yearns for, in the Redwoods, where he can live wild and free with others of his own kind. It is only when Will takes Caesar to the Redwood Forest, that he truly finds where he belongs. There is a significant moment that occurs during Caesar’s first visit to the forest where he asks his father’s permission to be free. When he initially comes to the primate sanctuary, after a tragic accident goes too far, Caesar initially yearns for the love and comfort of his human family – a fact that is illustrated quite clearly when he draws his window on the wall of his cage and rests his head against it…almost as if he is seeking comfort from this cold, lonely cage by clinging to this familiar symbol of his home and the love that he felt there.
However, when Caesar is given the choice between going home with his human father and remaining with the other apes, he chooses, quite clearly, to remain with his primate brothers at the sanctuary, instead of going home. He illustrates this by erasing the drawing he made of his symbol and turning his back on Will by closing the door; his actions clearly conveying “this is my home now.” When Caesar escapes into the Redwoods, he is given this choice again…to return home to the love and protection of his human father, or to remain with his ape family. This time, Caesar tells Will that he is home, and he asks permission again to be free. This time, when Will gives Caesar permission, the two can go their own ways with their bond intact.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast: Andy Serkis, James Franco, Frieda Pinto, Tom Felton, John Lithgow
The Bible says that God created Man, and in His infinite grace and wisdom, God gave Man dominion over the Earth and the animals who dwell there. But what happens when Man, in all his pride and ignorance, tries to play God by manipulating those same creatures to reverse the damage of time and age and recreate…life, itself? This is the question we contemplate in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
At the story's heart is Caesar (Andy Serkis), a chimpanzee who gains human-like intelligence and emotions from his mother who was injected with an experimental drug before she died. Raised like a human child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco) and a primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto), Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and imprisoned in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno. Seeking justice for his fellow inmates there, Caesar gives the fellow apes the same drug that he inherited. He then assembles a simian army and escapes the sanctuary - putting man and ape on a collision course that could change the planet forever.
One of the most powerful themes in this film is identity and nowhere is it illustrated more strongly than in the character of Caesar, himself, and the bond he shares with his human father, Will, and the other primates he meets in the sanctuary.
Although the bond shared between Caesar and his human family, Will and Charles, is extraordinarily strong, as he grows up, Caesar’s heightened intelligence and emotions cause him to realize that he does not quite belong in his father’s world. He is torn between two different lives…the one he shares with his human family, and the one he yearns for, in the Redwoods, where he can live wild and free with others of his own kind. It is only when Will takes Caesar to the Redwood Forest, that he truly finds where he belongs. There is a significant moment that occurs during Caesar’s first visit to the forest where he asks his father’s permission to be free. When he initially comes to the primate sanctuary, after a tragic accident goes too far, Caesar initially yearns for the love and comfort of his human family – a fact that is illustrated quite clearly when he draws his window on the wall of his cage and rests his head against it…almost as if he is seeking comfort from this cold, lonely cage by clinging to this familiar symbol of his home and the love that he felt there.
However, when Caesar is given the choice between going home with his human father and remaining with the other apes, he chooses, quite clearly, to remain with his primate brothers at the sanctuary, instead of going home. He illustrates this by erasing the drawing he made of his symbol and turning his back on Will by closing the door; his actions clearly conveying “this is my home now.” When Caesar escapes into the Redwoods, he is given this choice again…to return home to the love and protection of his human father, or to remain with his ape family. This time, Caesar tells Will that he is home, and he asks permission again to be free. This time, when Will gives Caesar permission, the two can go their own ways with their bond intact.
© 2021 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved